Death. Diarist and biographer James Boswell saw Hume a few weeks before his death from a form of abdominal cancer. Hume told him that he sincerely believed it a “most unreasonable fancy” that there might be life after death.

When did Hume die?

David Hume, (born May 7 [April 26, Old Style], 1711, Edinburgh, Scotland—died August 25, 1776, Edinburgh), Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism.

What does Hume say about death?

The half of mankind die before they are rational creatures.” 3. This makes our fear of death inexplicable: “as nature does nothing in vain, she would not give us a horror against an impossible event.